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GAMING ENTERS THIRD DIMENSION
GTECH’s Sphinx 3D has proved a game changer for the European casino sector with installations now spanning the market Europe - Casino Slots
GTECH’s SPHINX 3D game is now live on casino floors throughout Europe. The SPHINX 3D game made its European debut throughout Germany with installations at all nine of the Spielbanken Bayern properties in Bavaria.
UK – INSPIRED HAT TRICK OF APPOINTMENTS Inspired Gaming has made three appointments to bolster the growth of its Virtual Sports division. Mark MacCombie joins Inspired Virtuals as Business Development Director, Al Sayce as Account Director and Neil Brookes as Product Manager.
The new team members bring over three decades of industry expertise with them, having previously worked at organisa- tions including SkyBet, GTECH and GameAccount Network.
Steve Rogers, SVP of Virtual Sports and Mobile at Inspired, comments: “The last year has been phenomenal for Inspired’s Virtual Sports team – we have extended our geo- graphical footprint to 35 countries and been particularly suc- cessful in Italy where our products are generating 10m bets per month across retail, online and mobile.
“Underpinning the success of the Virtual Sports division is a very hard-working and passionate team, but to keep growing and supplying market-leading products we need to keep strengthening the team with industry experts and fresh ideas. During 2015 our customers can expect numerous innovations that will further increase their Virtual Sports rev- enues.”
FINLAND – RAY LAUNCHES PLAYTECH LIVE CASINO Finland’s national gaming operator has launched today with Playtech’s cutting-edge live casino solution located in its own purpose-built studio within its Espoo headquarters and fea- turing a new presenter concept.
RAY (Raha-Automaattiyhdistys – Slot Machine Association Finland) has further extended its existing long-term relation- ship with Playtech and launched unlimited Blackjack, Blackjack and Roulette tables. The initial launch includes Playtech web version with mobile due to follow shortly.
Playtech offers a wide choice of live casino facilities in order to meet the different cultural needs and requirements of its licensees, including installing live casino within physical casi- nos to accommodate local regulations.
Playtech worked closely with RAY and implemented a pur- pose-built environment to accommodate its requirements and the taste of its local audience. This included a new and innovative look and feel of its live casino product and the way dealers are presented to RAY’s customers.
“We are thrilled with the new product which is not only the best in class and the most advanced, but also the most flexi- ble and comprehensive which allowed us to have purposeful- ly taken a friendlier and fresher approach to live dealer,” said Timo Kiiskinen, Senior VP Business Operations at RAY.
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Casinos in Italy, Spain, Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, and Slovenia have also implemented the game, with more European countries to soon follow. The United States also went live with SPHINX 3D installations across various states including Las Vegas, Nevada.
“The preliminary feedback we have received from players at promotional events where SPHINX 3D is live has been extremely positive,” said GTECH International Vice President of Commercial Gaming Marcel Heutmekers. “Players are enjoy- ing the 3D effects, as they enhance the typical gaming experience and add an extra level of excitement. We are looking forward to installing these machines in more casinos around the world in the months to come.”
The SPHINX 3D game is the first of its kind to use a glasses-free 3D display, and the first game released as part of GTECH’s True 3D line. It pairs autostereoscopic technology with eye- tracking
that constantly adjusts the image based on the player’s line of sight. This generates a high-reso- lution image that leaps off the screen, creating an experience unlike any other game on the market. The game runs on the AXXIS cabinet, which cre- ates a sense of personal space and maximizes player comfort. The cabinet, combined with the True 3D technology, produces an all-encompass- ing 3D experience.
“We’re very pleased about the launch of the SPHINX 3D game in each of our nine casinos,” said Staatliche Lotterieverwaltung Bayern Vice President Josef Müller. “The product looks great and customers immediately take to the machine’s unique features and functionality. Players are very impressed when they see the 3D effects for the first time, and their reaction shows that we made the right decision by adding the SPHINX 3D game to our casinos.”
The latest European installations include Casino di Sanremo in Italy, which is the first Italian venue to offer its players the SPHINX 3D game, and the two HIT Casinos Perla and Park in Nova Gorica, Slovenia.
Slovenia
HitStars.it, the Italy focused online site from Slovenia’s HIT Casinos, has received approval from the Italian regulator, AAMS, following an extensive process of inspection and certification that has granted HIT a valid license to operate games remotely in Italy. The highly competitive Italian online gaming environment sees the launch of the Hit platform with an exhaustive range of 140 different games options, from slot machines by world’s largest producer, roulette, blackjack, poker (also in the tournament versions) and other card games of skill (skill) games, bingo and sports betting.
HitStars.it has also launched with a LiveCasino offer, with croupiers from the casino and entertainment center Perla in Nova Gorica, participating with online gamers and location-based players at a specially denominated table in the center of Perla.
OPAP in renewed bid to land Greece’s horseracing licence
GREECE Greek gambling operator OPAP is partnering with a British fund manager Global Family Partners as it looks to win the Greek horse race betting licence.
A 20-year licence to take bets on horse races as part of a privatisa- tion plan agreed with Athens’ international lenders is up for grabs. Horseracing is currently operated by ODIE, who reported a net loss of €23.4m in 2012.
Privatisation agency HRADF scuppered a deal with sole bidder
Intralot claiming it was not satis- factory and that the bidding process would be now start again from scratch.
OPAP’s bid will total €40m ($52.7m), representing a much improved bid than the 5.2m offered by Intralot. OPAP already owns the sole licence in lotteries and sports betting in Greece where it has around 5,000 betting shops.
OPAP’s second quarter were bet- ter than analysts expected with earnings before interest, tax,
depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increasing by 50 per cent to €68.6m. However a tax bill of €21.6m saw net profit fall by 44.5 per cent to €15.7m.
OPAP Invehas also recently com- pleted a deal to buy a 90 per cent stake in Payzone Hellas, a com- pany that operates the largest network of payment terminals in Greece for €7.75m.
Payzone Hellas’ portfolio boasts over 11,000 POS terminals which will be used for adding credit to OPAP gambling cards for online betting. The deal is expected to help OPAP lessen its dependence on traditional betting outlets and offer better access to its mobile phone network.
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